Chandigarh gasps for fresh air as AQI hits ‘severe’ category

Air quality in the city slipped into the ‘severe’ category today, leaving residents to gasp for fresh air.

As the region grappled with the rising pollution levels, the city was the worst hit with the AQI reaching 424 points at the Air Quality Monitoring Station, Sector 22, around 10 pm for the first time this season. At the Sector 53 station, bordering Mohali district, the AQI was 419 and at the Sector 25 facility 335. The average AQI of the city stood at 393.

For the sixth consecutive day today, the average AQI remained in the ‘very poor’ category in the city and it is the longest spell since 2020.

According to the data of the Central Pollution Control Board, the second highest average AQI was registered at 400 in the city on November 9, 2022.

Chandigarh issues advisory

• Avoid outdoor morning and late evening physical exercise. Do not open external doors and windows during morning and late evening hours, may ventilate if necessary between 12 pm and 4 pm (on days with ‘poor’ to ‘severe’ AQI)
• Avoid burning wood, coal, animal dung, kerosene.
• Avoid use of room fresheners. It consumes oxygen very fast
• Do not smoke cigarettes, bidis and related tobacco products
• Avoid burning mosquito coils and incense sticks in closed premises
• Practice wet mopping instead of sweeping or vacuum cleaning
• Keep washing your eyes with running water regularly and do regular gargles with warm water
• Consult the nearest doctor in case of breathlessness, giddiness, cough, chest discomfort or pain, irritation in eyes (red or watery)
• Patients with underlying medical conditions should be more careful to avoid exposure to air pollution. They should keep their medications readily available

During the night of Diwali, the AQI was 395 in the city.

In the morning and evening, a thick blanket of smog enveloped the city. Dr Ravindra Khaiwal, Professor of Environment Health, Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGI, said air pollution emissions, meteorology and atmospheric chemistry worked together in complex ways to influence the build-up of pollutants near ground levels, especially in urban environments like that of Chandigarh.

“This interplay is especially evident during winter when pollutants like PM2.5 and ground-level ozone accumulate due to lower temperatures, limited wind dispersal and stubble burning, leading to “severe” AQI levels that impact the health and well-being of residents,” he said.

Stubble burning in the neighbouring states was considered as one of the major causes of the increasing air pollution in the city.

The air quality of Chandigarh that has the third-highest tree cover in India was worse than Punjab’s industrial city of Ludhiana at 206 in the evening. Yesterday, at 343, Chandigarh was more polluted than Delhi, which had an AQI of 334. On Sunday also, the AQI of the city at 339 was higher than that of Delhi at 334.

Poses health risk

Dr Ashutosh N Aggarwal, Prof & Head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGIMER Chandigarh, said: “Smog poses considerable health risk to those engaged in outdoor activities. It can cause throat and chest irritation, shortness of breath, and also aggravate pre-existing lung diseases in patients.”